If you recall I made a big huge proclamation of my running goals for this spring. In fact, my first 5k race of the season is ALSO my bridal shower. We’re going to start with a 5k and then move on to the traditional party portion of the shower. With my bridesmaids and friends as witnesses I wanted to show some serious speed with a new 5k PR that day.

The team at Sport Chek loved my goal and asked me what kind of gear would help me with my spring training. All I wanted in the whole wide world was a new Polar watch. Last year I used my Polar heart rate monitor, my Polar Loop, my interval timer and my phone to track all of my running and fitness adventures. When Sport Chek wanted to give me something to #SweatBetter I knew it was time to get something that combined all of my devices.

So stay with me in this story, it’s the end of March … I’ve been bragging about my bridal shower 5k goals, I have a brand new and super fancy watch … and then I get sick. If you’re up to date on my blog it wasn’t a cold, it was inflammation in my lungs that is taking a seriously long time to get over. You can imagine how disappointed I was when the days went by and I was on the sidelines.

In the last few weeks I’ve finally been able to put together some strong weeks of training and running. My spring training is not anything like I had planned, but I’m so delighted to be back. That 5k is coming up fast (May 29th) and even though last month was super rough, I’m still gunning for that PR. Do I think it will happen? Probably not, but I’m still going to run my little brains out. Here’s the most wonderful thing about having used my watch for the last month – looking back at my Polar diary. When I look back at my diary of the last month I can clearly see how each week I got better and better. Each week I ran faster. I ran more kilometres. I worked out harder. I logged more hours of training.

If I don’t PR, then what? Then nothing, right! That’s the beauty of running. We don’t kill it at every race. Sometimes sweating better is about the journey, not the outcome. The great news is that I have this spiffy new tool for the next race, and the race after that. I have barely scratched the surface at everything this watch can do. If you’ve seen me in person in the last month you know that I am IN LOVE with my Polar V800. It’s already changed the way I train for short distances. I cannot wait to use it for long distance training … because who knows what this fall running season will bring. I’m not ready to commit, but I’ve got some ideas 😉

I am SO SO SO excited to race on May 29th at the Toronto Women’s Run. Let me know if you’re racing soon too (and where).

Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored by Sport Chek. I received compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

3 Comments

I had the same thoughts for Mississauga but the important thing was that even though I didn’t PR – I made it to the start line injury free! I currently have no races coming up so depending on my mileage by your race day, I might run over! 😀

I just did a half marathon recently, and it was no where near a PR. I went into it just wanting to finish injury free, and was happy that I did. It made it kind of enjoyable not to worry about timing – though I of course also still deep down wanted to run as fast as I could, haha! Best of luck in your upcoming race and I hope you have a great time!!